quidnunc
noun
quid·nunc ˈkwid-ˌnəŋk 
: a person who seeks to know all the latest news or gossip : busybody
Did you know?
What's new? That's a question every busybody wants answered. Latin-speaking Nosey Parkers might have used some version of the expression "quid nunc," literally "what now," to ask the same question. Appropriately, the earliest documented English use of "quidnunc" to refer to a gossiper appeared in 1709 in Sir Richard Steele's famous periodical, The Tatler. Steele is far from the only writer to ply "quidnunc" in his prose, however. You also can find the word among the pages of works by such writers as Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne. But don't think the term is old news - it sees some use in current publications, too.
Synonyms
- circulator
- gossip
- gossiper
- gossipmonger
- newsmonger
- tale-teller
- talebearer
- telltale
- yenta
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
with the arrival of our other friend, we at last had a quorum of quidnuncs and enough material to while away a long lunch hour
Word History
Etymology
Latin quid nunc what now?
First Known Use
1709, in the meaning defined above
quidnunc
noun
as in gossiper
a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others with the arrival of our other friend, we at last had a quorum of quidnuncs and enough material to while away a long lunch hour Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- gossiper
- gossip
- gossipmonger
- informer
- informant
- yenta
- talebearer
- circulator
- newsmonger
- tattler
- telltale
- tale-teller
- squealer
- blabbermouth
- stool pigeon
- scandalmonger
- tattletale
- libeler
- snitcher
- betrayer